What made you fall for Gintama?

[rainsometimes]

Question to any Gintama fans who happen to read this: looking back, what do you think made you fall for the series and stick by it? Was there any specific arc or episode/chapter or moment where you realized that "damn, I'm really into this now", or did it happen gradually? Did you start with the manga or the anime? Did you read/watch them in order or did you skip around?

Also - were your initial impressions of the main characters and prominent secondary characters similar to how you feel about them now, or did you change your mind a lot as you got to know them better?